One Fine Day
by AG.and.Katy
Summary: Two single parents, one closed school. What will it take to bring a Senior Museum Executive and the owner of the best bistro in NYC together? JAM
1. Just Another Manic Monday Part 1

Well, here we go. A new journey for Katy and AG. Hopefully, you all like it enough to continue on. We would really appreciate your reviews :) They help us decide where to go and what to do, and we're hoping to incorporate you all into the writing process as much as we can, so... Without further adieu, our very first joint story:

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The alarm clock was blaring on the nightstand beside the bed, _Oh, oh it's just another manic Monday! Woah, woah, wish it were Sunday. _Pam rolled her eyes and threw her arm over to the nightstand, slamming down on the alarm clock with such a force that one of the buttons she pressed must have been the snooze button because the music instantly stopped, although her hand throbbed from the contact.

Sighing, she stared up at her ceiling for a moment before glancing over at her clock. 6:27. Of course. When was the last time she'd gotten up after 6:30? It had definitely been a few years. At least six, as far as she could remember because Kade had always been an early riser. Now that he was in school, though, he seemed to like to sleep a bit later, which was only the most annoying thing in the world. Why was it that when kids had nowhere to be, they wanted to wake up at four A.M., but when they had somewhere to be, they wanted to sleep as late as they could?

Swinging her legs over the side of her small bed, she squinted as the lights came in through the windows on her apartment, the sounds of honking and New York City hospitality not lost in the seven floors between the roads beneath and her bedroom. Her left foot landed hard on top of one of Kade's toy trucks, and she yelled out in pain. "Shit!" she screamed, her foot flying up as she held it, bouncing around. "Shit, shit, shit." _How many times have I told him to pick up his freaking toys._

She opened the door to her bedroom and walked into the hallway, taking a deep breath and enjoying the quiet that only seemed to surround her life between the hours of 9PM and 6AM. Any other time, chaos seemed to engulf her. She opened the door to Kade's room, scowling at the mess all over the floor and flipped on his light switch, a plaque with Darth Vader painted on it.

"Okay, buddy, time to wake up," she said softly, trying to stay cool and collected. He groaned from the bed and squinted his eyes together in a way that made all of her anger over the toy truck fade into the distance.

"Do I hafta?" He asked, burying his face in the pillow and bringing his knees to his chest, his small butt popping out from under the covers. She chuckled lightly to herself as he rubbed his eyes.

"Yep. Get a move on. Your clothes are on the dresser. I want you in them, with both of your shoes on, and your backpack on your back in thirty minutes." He looked at her blankly. "That's one Spongebob," she said, and he nodded, fully comprehending what she had to say.

She turned and left the room, closing the door behind her and racing into her bedroom. She quickly reached into her closet and pulled out the nicest looking suit she owned, throwing it on, hoping to God it still fit. She did not need anything messing up her day today. Today was the most important day of her career. She reached out and grabbed the pin labeled, "Pamela Beesly. Senior Museum Executive" on it and pinned it through her shirt quickly, stabbing herself on accident twice.

Today was the day. The museum had just begun to thrive, and three weeks ago, Paul Grocco's manager, Richard Carlton had called her, telling her Paul was considering her museum to host his new impressionist exhibition. Paul was a favorite within artists' circles, his exhibitions attracting large numbers of fans and tourists. Having one of his exhibitions in your museum was like sealing the museum's fate in gold—Pam knew she couldn't mess this up.

As she buttoned her suit, she stared at herself in the mirror, practicing her lines for the important presentation she had this morning. Paul was stopping by the museum at ten for a lengthy tour, and then they were going to be having a lunch meeting at 11:30 to discuss his options as far as her museum went. If she could land this… Well, things would be a lot better for her and Kade. She'd worked hard on the presentation, but her confidence was still shaking.

She quickly ran a brush through her hair, thankful she'd already straightened it the night before to save time this morning. She grabbed her heels by a finger and ran out the door of her bedroom and over to the kitchen, quickly pulling out a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and a jar of jelly for Kade's lunch. _This juggling act was so much easier when scumbag was around. _Spreading the jelly on one half and the peanut butter on the other, she tried to make the sandwich the way Kade liked it. Three fourths peanut butter, one fourth jelly. Crusts cut off. Diagonal slices. She packed it into the plastic bag and pulled out the potato chips, quickly stuffing them into little baggies.

"KADE!" she yelled up the stairs, her voice already becoming hoarse. _Great. Just what I need today. Do Monday's have to always be like this? _"ARE YOU READY YET?"

She heard his footsteps on the stairs and she sighed in relief, _at least he's ready to come downstairs, _stuffing all of the ingredients of his lunch into the Star Wars lunchbox, silently going through the nutritional checklist. Apple, Sandwich, Chips, Drink, Cookie. Check, Check, Check, Check, Check. Good to go.

She turned around, lunchbox in hand, to see Kade standing in front of her, looking almost presentable except for the large tufts of hair sticking up all over the place. She sighed. "Bathroom, now." He walked into the bathroom, his mouth moving a mile a minute as she followed after him, grabbing a hairbrush from the drawer and spraying his hair wet, trying to get it to stay down.

"Mom," he said, and she grunted lightly, trying to get the stubborn tufts of hair down. "Mom," he said again, and she moved to the other side, straightening his shirt and trying to pull his pants up enough that they might not fall down. "Mom, I can't find my shoe!" he said, and she sighed, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Where did you last put it?"

"If I knew that, it'd be on my foot!" He said, exasperated. She would laugh at his answer later, right now, they needed to find those damn light up shoes.

She ran into the living room, looking under the couch and around corners and nooks of the apartment, wondering where the missing shoe could be. _Tony, Tony, look around, something's lost that can't be found._ She sang quietly in her head, the prayer to St. Anthony that her friend Mary Katherine had taught her years ago chorusing in her head. _Where is that freaking shoe?_

She glanced at her watch. 7:15. They were already late, and they still had the ten minute trek to school. God, where were those damn shoes.

"Mom! I found it!" Kade came running up, excitement plastered on his face.

"Good, where was it?" She asked, yanking it out of his hand to put it on his foot.

"Hey! I can do it!" He said, and she momentarily forgot that his new 'thing' was showing people how good he could tie his own shoes. _Oh God, not today_. "It was in my backpack." He said happily, bouncing on one foot. _Oh brother._

"Okay, baby, we really need to go…" She said, the third time the bunny had forgotten to go through the hole. "Can I just tie them?"

"Mom, I'm gonna get it!" He said, indignantly, and any other time she would be proud of her son for sticking with it, but right now she was more annoyed. They really had to go.

On the fifth try he stood up and they ran outside to hail a cab to Kade's school. She raced up to the front doors, exasperated by the school's sign in policy. _If I'm late getting him to school, why do you think I have time to come sign him in? He knows his name! _She pulled at the doors, thinking it was a little strange that she hadn't heard anything from inside the school but perhaps they were all behaving today.

The door stuck, and it was then that she noticed the sign on the door informing her that today was Records Day and that the school was closed.

Could today get any worse?

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And what do you think? If FF won't let you review, we'd love a PM telling us what you thought!! Thanks guys! You're the best! 


	2. Just Another Manic Monday Part 2

A/N: Hey everyone - here is Chapter 2 of AG & Katy's joint story. I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. We're already in the planning stages of another joint story, so if you review lots we'll keep this up. Now, to your reviews from Chapter 1.

ktface3 - Thanks so much. We hope you can still see characteristics of Jim and Pam in this new environment, but there are definitely some differences. We wanted to make it believable, but fun too. This is fiction, right? Also, a PM stands for Private Message. You can go to our (or anyone else's) profile and click on the link at the top that says "send a message" (or something like that). That will send sort of like an email to the person. It's quite fun. Give it a try on our profile if you want. :)  
AG - OMG! Kewl ppl cul8r. Hehe.  
henantz - Thanks! Here's your update:)  
literati - We're glad we've got you hooked!  
Coffee - I think you'll like the way we've done this story. It's like the movie, but it definitely has it's own story line and humor. Make sure you let us know what you and/or didn't like.  
dancer - Thanks! Keep coming back!  
Elly - We love you:) You'll see as we post, but the story will have it's own story line while continuing to honor the movie.  
Katy - I know. You're awesome. LoL.  
kerber - Thank you!

Okay, here's more!

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Someone was knocking on the door and his phone was ringing off the hook. He rolled from his back to his stomach and threw the pillow over his head to drown out the noise. _What is the matter with these people? Don't they know its way too early for me to be up?_ He was willing himself back to sleep when he heard his answering machine pick up.

"Yeah, you've got Jim. Leave a message." Beep.

"Jim!" He cringed instantly when he heard the voice of his ex-wife. "Open your damn door! I know you're in there!"

He groaned and tossed the pillow off to the side. Sliding out of bed, he padded his way sleepily out of his room, down the hall, and to the front door. Scratching idly at his bottom, he opened the door and stood facing his ex-wife and his 6-year-old daughter.

All sleepiness left his body when he saw Charlotte standing at the door. A smile broke his face when she came running in, her backpack bouncing on her back, and threw herself into his outstretched arms. "Daddy!"

"Hey there princess." He wrapped his arms tightly around her and picked her up off the ground, while her arms strangled his neck. He kissed her on the cheek. "Is it Monday already?"

"Daddy," she scolded him with a smile and he saw her bright blue eyes light up. She put her hands on her hips and tilted her head in a motherly way. He couldn't help but laugh lightly. "You knew it was Monday."

He chuckled. "You're right, I did know it was Monday." He gave her another big hug and set her back down on the ground. She dropped her backpack to the floor and started running off into the cluttered apartment. "Go start breakfast, will you?" he yelled after her and his heart soared when he heard her giggle.

He turned back to the door and grimaced when he saw that Veronica was still standing at the door, her hands on her hips and her lips pursed. He took a steadying breath and said, "Good morning Veronica." He looked her up and down and shook his head. "I see you're looking quite under-dressed as usual."

She groaned, adjusted her short, red halter top and walked into the apartment, pulling papers out of her purse as she went. "I don't know why it's so hard to get you up every other Monday morning, Jim." Jim rolled his eyes and followed her into the apartment as she continued with her tirade. _Here she goes again._ "I mean, how hard is to remember that you just spent the last week without your daughter here? You're so irresponsible." She sat down on the couch, pushed empty Chinese takeout boxes off the coffee table to the floor and started laying out the usual papers.

Jim sank down into his lazy boy across from her, rubbed his hands over his eyes and said, "I'm glad to see you're in your usual chipper mood this morning."

She ignored him and continued on. "Here are the instructions for Charlie this week."

Jim clenched his jaw. "I told you, in this house her name is Charlotte. I do not have a little boy, Veronica."

Again she ignored him. "I'm not going to be around at all this week, and neither is Rib. He has a gig in San Francisco and since I never get a vacation I'm going with him."

"How is Ribeye doing anyway?" Jim flashed his teeth and laid on as much sarcasm as he could.

"He's fine." She pursed her lips again and added, "And it's Rib, Jim. _Not_ Ribeye."

Jim nodded his head and said, "Right, right. Of course. What was I thinking?"

Veronica's eyes were cold as she glared at Jim. "See, this is why we are no longer married. You're so immature."

"Yes, because going out and cheating on your husband with a man who can't yet drink legally is real mature." Jim had had enough. It was like this every other week.

Veronica stood up and threw her purse over her shoulder, her eyes shooting daggers at Jim. "I need to be going. We have a flight to catch."

Jim didn't get up when she walked to the door, opened it, walked out, and slammed it behind her. He, instead, sat in his lazy boy and continued to rub his face, trying to gain some sense of calm. He was sitting there, mumbling to himself, when he felt a small finger tap him on the shoulder. He smiled. "Yes?"

"Daddy?" Jim lifted his head from his hands and grinned at his daughter. "What time is it?"

Jim glanced at the clock on the wall above the couch and suddenly realized that it was time to get Charlotte to school. He jumped out of his chair and ran into his bedroom, yelling on the way, "It's time to get going to school princess! Get your backpack on your back, grab a muffin from the kitchen and we'll go!"

He rushed into his room and grabbed a pair of jeans off the floor. As he was pulling his pajama pants down he glanced at the jeans to see if they looked dirty, assessed that they weren't and started putting them on, one leg at a time. Unfortunately, as he was putting his left leg in, he missed the hole and toppled over onto the ground, banging his head on the floor. He groaned. _Oh God, that was smooth._

He stood up, pulling his pants up and buttoning them. He grabbed a long-sleeved t-shirt out of an open drawer, pulled it on over his white t-shirt and sat down on the edge of the bed to put his socks and shoes on.

After five minutes in his room, he was almost finished tying his shoes when he heard a knock on the other side of the door. "Daddy! We have to go! I don't want to be late!"

"I'm coming!" He tied his shoe tight and then stood up and walked out of the bedroom. Charlotte was standing on the other side of it, muffin in hand and her backpack on her back. Jim smiled, whisked her up into his arms and walked out of the apartment. "Did your mom pack you a lunch?" he asked as they rode the elevator down 12 floors to the busy New York streets.

Charlotte shook her head. "No, she said that you need to learn your lesson and get me something on your own." She said it as if she were quoting her mother exactly and Jim bit back a smile. Her mother may be an idiot, but she sure is adorable.

"Okay," he said and they walked quickly down the sidewalk to the right. He lifted Charlotte onto his shoulders and said, "We'll grab something at the deli on the way through."

They walked a block further and Jim lifted her back off her shoulders. They walked into the deli and Jim ordered her a turkey sandwich, bag of chips and a juice. He stood leaned against the counter waiting when Charlotte said, "Daddy, how come you own a restaurant, but you never make me lunch?"

Jim smiled at her, grabbed the bag from the guy behind the counter, picked up Charlotte again and started out of the deli. "Because," he said simply. "I own a restaurant, but I don't cook. I leave that up to the professionals."

Charlotte grinned at him and kissed him on the cheek. "Can we eat at the restaurant this week?"

"Absolutely." They were a block from the school and Jim glanced at his watch. They were late. "Let's run huh?"

Charlotte nodded and he set her down and they took off. When they were feet away from the door they saw a woman and small boy standing outside the door. _Why doesn't she go in already?_ Jim stopped in front of the door and noticed the sign.

He looked down at Charlotte and said, "Records day?"

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Well, let us know what you think. We're not going to update unless we get a certain number of reviews (but we're not saying how many), because we want to make sure you guys want to see more! So, go review! 


	3. Just Another Manic Car Ride

Thanks for all the reviews guys! We think you're the greatest! And also, we have pictures of our lovely Charlotte and Kade, so check out our profile for the links to those. :) They're adorable.

Reviews:

KT- Well, you'll find out what attracted him to her. And then you'll shake your head...  
Coffee- I'm glad you like it!! And remember, he makes amazing grilled cheese and ham and cheese sandwiches!  
Kerber- More fuel! Yay!  
Dancer-They do NOT know each other already. Just now meeting. :)  
Elly- Shut up. Haha. And don't steal our story and go to Vegas or I'll shoot you with a stungun from Dwight's drawer.  
Literati- Oh, yeah, we know!  
Rach- Aww thanks! And yeah she is a train wreck! Thanks for reviewing!!!  
AG- You are so silly.  
Henantz- Charlotte! Charlie! All amazing. :)  
Maddi-I'm so glad you love it. correction WE are so glad you love it!  
TheWay- I'm glad you like it!  
Dean- I have never been called a tease before...  
Flonkerton- I LOVE your penname. And, no four papers. And great use of the win win win quote.  
Empty- Well, here's more!

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She stood there, staring at the door, Kade's voice piping up, "What does it say mommy?"

_Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Not today!!! _"It says school is closed today," she replied, inwardly groaning. _Why hadn't they sent home a newsletter or called her or done anything to tell her? How could they just do this to her. Today! Of all days, it had to be today. _

"Oh yeah, Miss Rogers told me to tell you that school is closed today! I forgot!" Kade's voice piped up. _Of course you did, buddy. Just like you forgot your shoes in your backpack. Can you be any more forgetful? You're just like your father._

She held Kade's hand and stared at the piece of paper, trying to figure out what to do with him today. Her interview was at 11:30, but Paul was going to be at the museum in just over an hour. What could she possibly do with Kade in that little amount of time? She could take him to his grandma's, but grandma lived in New Jersey and by the time she got there and back she'd have missed the first half of her interview. _Oh God, what am I going to do?_

"Records Day?" Pam heard the husky voice behind her, and she knew at once that this time it wasn't her son. She looked over to see a somewhat disheveled man, and she almost couldn't help but snicker at his outrageous look. He looked like a college kid who'd just rolled out of bed twenty minutes late for his exam. His hair was sticking up all over the place, there were mustard stains all over his black shirt, and his jeans were hardly held up against his waist since he'd forgotten his belt. She looked down at his shoes. _Oh, God. Even my son can find a pair of MATCHING shoes. _

She reached into her purse, pulling out a Tide Stain Remover pen and handed it to him, jolting him out of the love lock stare he'd been having with the child next to him, she assumed his daughter. He gave her a look, and she waved her hand lightly, "For the mustard stain," she said. "Always have to keep these around when you have kids."

He looked at her for a moment, as if unsure of how to reply to her. "Uh, what's a Records Day?" He asked, panic written on his face as he ran the pen over the front of his shirt dismissively and his daughter pulled on his shirt.

"It's a random day every grading period where they grade the kids' work and do lesson plans and such. It normally falls on a Friday," she started, and then let the bit of irritation creep into her voice, "but for some reason they thought it would be funny to make it today."

He opened his mouth to reply to her, but the next voice she heard certainly didn't belong to him. "Daddy! You shouldn't talk to strangers!" She looked down at the little girl next to his hip and smiled.

"That's right, honey, you shouldn't." She nodded slightly, ducking behind her father's leg. She reached out her hand to him and smiled, "Pamela Beesly, and this is my son, Kade." He shook her hand and nodded.

"Jim Halpert. This is Charlotte bo barlotte." The little girl next to him giggled.

"DADDY!!!!" He laughed and she joined in lightly, ducking down to Charlotte's level.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Charlotte. Maybe we'll see you again sometime, but we really have to go." She nodded and waved goodbye as Pam took Kade's hand, yanking him down the steps and over to hail a cab. She threw her arm in the air and when the cab stopped in front of her, she climbed in, pulling at the door, but it didn't move. She looked up to see him standing there.

"Where you headed?" He asked her, and she could see Charlotte running to catch up behind him. _God, he can't even wait for his daughter? She could get mugged or something. This is New York City!_

"West side," she replied hurriedly. "32nd street. We really have to go though."

"Us too. Split fare?" he said, already climbing into the cab. She stared at him in disgust. _Yes, Mr. Garbage Can, that's the first thing I want to do. _She was immediately shocked by her own thoughts and feeling she owed some sort of something to redeem herself, she waved her arm nonchalantly, biting her nail as he slid over next to her so Charlotte could fit inside.

"Mommy, can I go sit next to Charlotte?" Kade asked, already crawling over her lap, his tennis shoes making marks on her suit. She groaned.

"Be careful!" She scolded, "This is mommy's best suit and she needs it to look nice today." He winced and nodded, continuing his path across her lap over to where Charlotte sat between she and Jim. She buried her head in her hands as he finished climbing across her, trying her best not to cry at the unfortunate way this day was going. _What the hell can I do with him? Grandmas is a no… I can't take him to a day care, nobody will take him this late… His father's off screwing some playboy bunny, I'm sure. Damn, damn, damn…_

She noticed a stain from his shoes against her suit and she groaned. "Ugh!" She felt Jim's eyes on her and she didn't even look up, just explained herself. "I have marks on my suit now." She saw the Tide Stain Remover pen appear in front of her face and she took it.

"Always have to keep these around if you have kids," he said, and she couldn't help but smile lightly. She quickly opened it and rubbed it against her suit, hoping to God the stains would come out.

"Tough day?" he asked, and she looked up at him.

"You have no idea," she stated. "I have this huge presentation at work today. If I nail it, basically everything will work out for my entire life and if I don't, well damn it." She covered her mouth and looked over at Charlotte and Kade, but they were busy giggling and pointing out the window of the car. "And I really can't do it with Kade here and I thought the school would be open, and—" she was cut off her rambling by the sound of her cell phone ringing and she groaned, digging it out of her purse.

She pulled out her wallet, her lipstick, a checkbook, three of Kade's toy dinosaurs, floss, a box of bandaids, Kleenex, children's Tylenol, and a tampon. Finally, she reached her phone, noticing on the caller ID that work was calling her. She groaned and put her finger up to signal to Jim that she'd return to their delightful conversation in a moment.

"Hello?" she sighed, exasperated into the phone, as she could see Jim talking to Charlotte and Kade out of the corner of her eye. "I'll be there soon, Kade's school is closed today, and I had no idea, but we're in a cab, and I should be able to drop him off somewhere before Paul—"

The voice on the other line interrupted her, "Pam, Paul's here. He wants to start now. We need you here NOW." She groaned, out of the back of her mind she could hear Jim and Kade talking.

_"Is that candy?"_she heard Kade say, pointing to something on her lap. She felt Jim's hand brush her thigh as he grabbed the tampon she'd accidentally taken out, slipping it back in her purse. She gave him a grateful look, her cheeks blushing not only from the candy question, but his soft touch. She shook her head slightly, returning her energy back to her conversation.

"I'll be there soon. Give me five minutes, we're almost there." She hung up the phone and looked over at Jim and the kids, noticing that the kids had gone back to playing amongst themselves and Jim was staring at her.

She quickly began picking up all of the contents of her purse and stuffing them back inside. "Apparently my presentation got moved up to like, ten minutes ago," she said quickly, hitting her hand to her forehead. "God, what am I going to do?" she whined.

He stared at her for a moment, his cell phone ringing from his pocket. "Hold on." He said, picking it out. She could only hear snippets of his conversation as she went through the presentation in her head. _Our gallery is one of the finest in the world.. _"Yes I know the Swanson party is tonight." _We feel that the only thing missing from our gallery is your collection, Mr. Grocco." _"Yeah, well, go to the store and order seventy pounds of beef, then bring it back to the restaurant and cook that, and I want you to mix it with…" _Your collection will be amidst many big name artists, such as Renoire, Rembrandt, Wood… _"Right, then tonight at seven, I want you to clear out the back room. I have Charlotte, so I can't be there, but I'll be there this afternoon to set up and meet with Mr. Swanson. Yes, I know… Yes, I'm sure he'll go for it… We need this." _In a museum visited by 2,000 people a day. _"Yes. Have him come in at 1:15. I'll meet with him and convince him that we're the restaurant he wants to spend his money on." _We believe in the impressionists values, morals, and we will be the best fit for you…_

"Sorry about that," Jim's voice woke her up from her practice. "I have a huge dinner thing tonight at my restaurant and today we're meeting with this guy who wants to use us for all of his catering, and he might want us to make a second restaurant inside his hotel chains and it's a big deal."

"Oh, that's okay," Pam said, not really listening much to what he was saying as the cab stopped. The door opened and Jim got out, helping Kade and Charlotte out of the car and then reaching his hand in to help her out, still keeping an eye on the kids. "Kade, you're going to come up to my office and you have to be very, very quiet. Nobody can know you're there," she said, grabbing his hand.

"But I wanna play with Charlotte!" he whined, pouting. She rolled her eyes, sticking her phone back in her purse.

"I'm sorry, not today. We have to GO." She said, dragging him away from his new friend. "Bye Jim, it was nice meeting you," she waved, and he waved back. She glanced at Charlotte standing next to him, and she saw her give Kade a wink. _What was that about?_

He stood there and watched her leave, taking Charlotte's hand in his and walking in the opposite direction before he realized he'd forgotten his phone. "Shit!" he said, and Charlotte stared up at him wide-eyed. "I mean, crap. I forgot my phone," he started to walk back toward the cab, but Charlotte pulled on his hand.

"I got it daddy," she said, handing him his phone. He thanked her and stuck it in his pocket, turning to her. "What do we want to do today, princess?"

"Let's go play!" she said, grinning. He laughed and nodded, and it was only then that he heard the unfamiliar music coming from his pants pocket. He reached inside and pulled the phone out, studying it, and for the first time, he realized that there wasn't a single scratch on the cover.

_Shit. This isn't my phone.

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_Review for chapters... And let me tell you, the next chapter is fantastic. No, seriously. 


	4. Just Another Manic Phone Call

_Hey hey! Here we are with chapter 4 everyone. Y'all need to step up your game with the reviewing though. I mean, we don't want to update a story that no one wants to read, get it? Got it? GOOD:) To your reviews!_

_gilmoregurl55: We have taken your note - here is your next chapter. LoL.  
Literati: Thanks! You're going to like this one too.  
Flonkerton Champ: Islam and Broken Blossoms - you poor thing. We're sorry to keep you waiting, but I think you're going to like how we have it set to end. Hopefully! Now, get back to your studying.  
MrsBigTuna: Have I ever told you that I want your screen name? LoL. Anywho, I love this film too, so it was a great idea to try and recreate it, JAM style. :) Thanks!  
EmptyHallway: Thanks! We hope you stick around to see it end.  
Elly10: The kids are cute huh? YAY!  
ktface3: Tide-To-Go is totally a mom's savior. LoL. You'll definitely see that Pam isn't really cold-hearted, but more "stressed" than anything. Just stick around and see.  
kerber1920: Okay, okay, here you go:)  
maddikinz940: We're glad you like it so much!_

_Okay, so thanks to all of you who have reviewed so far. Keep 'em coming. :) Alright, go read the chapter. LoL._

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Jim looked down at the phone and tried to decide if he should answer it. "Ummmmmm…" The song continued to play and finally, grimacing, he picked it up, "Hello?"

"Who is this?" The female voice on the other end of the phone was sweet and gentle and Jim felt an instant liking for the woman, something he never would have thought possible from just three words.

"My name is Jim Halpert," he said, grabbing hold of Charlotte's hand and walking her towards the playground, only 3 blocks away. "It seems I have switched phones with Ms. Beesly by accident." Charlotte was swinging his hand back and forth and singing loudly. Jim made a "shush" face and she grinned, but stopped singing.

"Well goodness, isn't that interesting?" she said, a hint of laughter in her voice. "Are you," she paused. "A friend?" Jim heard the innuendo in her voice and laughed.

"We just met today. So, I can't say that we're exactly friends, no."

"Shame," she said simply and Jim could hear her smile. "How exactly did you come about wandering away with my sister's phone?"

"It's sort of a long story," Jim said. "But the Reader's Digest version is that we both tried to take our children to school today, and found that the school was closed. So, we shared a cab to 32nd street and I guess we accidentally switched phones."

"What a twist of fate," Pam's sister said with a chuckle in her voice. "Are you a single parent as well?"

"I am," he said and laughed. "You're quite nosy aren't you?" He never would have thought to joke with someone that he had never met, let alone even talked to for more than a few minutes, but he felt she wouldn't take it the wrong way. He was only joking.

She laughed gently and he finally realized the sound of her voice was distinctly like Pam's. Maybe that's why I like her. _Pam was nice on the eyes and she seemed quite nice, under that whole "I'm a big museum executive" stressed out state she was in._ "No, no, just trying to find someone good enough for my little sister." She added, "Well, when you see Pam to trade phones, please let her know I called, would you?"

Jim and Charlotte had just walked into the playground and Jim let go of her hand as she ran off to the swings. He stopped at the edge of gravel to finish his conversation. "I will do that…"

"Leslie," she finished for him. "It was nice talking to you Jim."

Jim smiled. "You too Leslie." He hung up the phone and let out a giant sigh. _How in the world did I grab her phone?_ He looked up to see Charlotte climbing into a swing and pumping her legs ferociously, trying to make it go. He started wandering in that direction. _And how in the world did I just have __**that**__ conversation with her sister?_ Jim laughed to himself lightly and came up to his daughter.

"Want a push, princess?"

Charlotte grinned up at him and said, "Yes please, Daddy."

Jim circled her to stand behind her and started pushing her. Charlotte let out a little squeal and he pushed her harder.

_Okay, I need to figure out how to get her phone back to her. __**Plus**__, I need my phone back._

"Faster, Daddy, faster!" Jim pushed her harder on the swing so she'd move through the air at a faster pace. She squealed again.

_Alright, I have it! I'll just call my phone and then…wait, what's my number?_ Jim's face contorted into confusion, mixed with hilarity. _How in the world do I not know my number?_

"Charlotte, honey?" Jim called out to his little girl. "Do you know Daddy's cell phone number?"

She squealed once more as she flew high into the air. "Noooo!" The end of her response was that of another delighted scream and Jim cursed under his breath.

"Are you sure?" he called again.

He had stopped pushing her when she'd started to drag her feet in the gravel. She came to a complete stop and turned around to look at him, her cheeks flushed from the cool air. "Is it 555-6476?"

Jim tipped his head to the side thinking. "You might have it, princess." She smiled at him again and ran off to the slide. Jim followed behind her punching the numbers into the phone and hitting the "send" button.

The phone rang once, twice, three times and Jim was starting to wonder when Pam was going to pick up his phone. Finally a voicemail answered. Jim heard Veronica's voice say, "You have reached Veronica and Rib. We're in San Francisco right now, so leave a message and we'll get back to you next week." Jim was about to hang up but stopped when he heard Rib's voice say loudly, "ROCK ON!" Jim burst into laughter as the voicemail beeped. He quickly hung up, but knew that his laugh was going to be on their machine.

Charlotte looked down at him from the top of the slide. "What are you laughing at Daddy?"

He grinned up at her. "Nothing princess. Be careful up there." Charlotte nodded and then started down the slide. When she was at the bottom he said to her, "And by the way, that was your mommy's phone number."

She grinned. "Sorry Daddy." She ran off to go up the slide again.

Jim sat down Indian-style on the gravel, not really caring that he was getting dirty, and put his head in his hands to think. _I have had this number for years. What is the matter with me?_ He tipped his head to the side. _But, then again, it's not like I call myself all the time. And people don't really ask me for my number. It's not like I have woman lined up asking for it. He sighed. Yeah, wouldn't that be nice._ He tipped his head to the other side. You should still know your own number Jim! He shook his head and stared down at the phone, willing it to jog his memory. He narrowed his eyes and concentrated when suddenly the phone started singing to him again.

Excitedly he looked at the phone and said aloud, "That's my number!"

* * *

_Yay! What did you think huh? Really? Good...now go type it out in a review. Hehe._


	5. Just Another Manic Lunch

Here you go. Merry Christmas! ho! ho! ho!

Reviews:  
KT- We love Charlotte too. :) Here's more.  
Dnacer- Thanks! Here's some more original character talk.  
JAMlover- Oh wow! Thanks!!!! We're not sure how the story will end--we dont know anything, haha.  
Code name- ROCK ON! was a brilliant addition. The non-writer of the phrase agrees.  
BigTuna- You're just too good. Hmm... Well, they're not always Katy, you know!  
Dean- I'm glad you enjoy it!  
Literati- Thanks!  
C.O- Oh thanks! We're trying to make them real in their unnatural settings.  
Kerber- We're waiting for your story! And here you go!  
Empty Hallway- Oh thats so funny! Thanks!  
Meg- Oh, she's adorable!  
Trisk- Hmm, well we hope this one's better for you!  
Maddi- Oh, well we hate you too. :)  
Rach- I'm glad you love it! Here's more!

* * *

The phone vibrated against the desk, humming loudly next to where Kade sat in the waiting area of his mother's office, his feet kicking into the wind, his chin against his palm in boredom. He was quickly jolted awake by the new, unfamiliar ringtone and he raced over to the table, knocking his mother's purse on the floor and pulling out the phone. He picked up the phone and looked at it, excited he recognized a few of the letters in the caller ID frame. There was a B! And that one was a T! And CH, that one was easy! He couldn't read what the word was, but maybe Mom would help him if he brought into her.

He ran over to the conference room where Pam was giving her presentation, ignoring the pleas of his mother's mean assistant, Becky, to stay out of the area, and ran through the doors and up to his Mom. She was in the middle of talking, but Kade had never been the type of child that was interested in not interrupting. "MOM!" She looked down at him, giving him a look that told him clearly not to bother her. "Your phone is buzzing," he said, handing it to her.

She put a finger up to the three men in the room with her, excusing herself as she bent down to talk to Kade. "Thank you honey," she said, straightening his t-shirt. "Baby, I really need you to go outside and wait for me, okay? I've got to finish this presentation."

He nodded, leaned into her ear and whispered in a voice that wasn't really a whisper, "When you're done with your prespitation, can we go to ChuckE's?"

She smiled. "Yes, but you have to be a good boy," He nodded vigorously and left the room, apologizing to the men as she straightened up.

"I'm sorry about that," she said softly, looking back to her charts. "So, as you can see, this museum has seen a steady growth not only in funds, but visitors," She turned to Paul, smiling, "Should you choose to allow us to showcase your exhibition, we'll provide you your own wing. There will be multiple staff members assigned specifically to your exhibition, and –"

She was interrupted by a hand waving in the air, "Miss Beesly."

"Yes?" She stopped.

"We're going to want to meet with you tonight at five PM at the Café Cabernet on 5th. It will be imperative that you bring a model of our wing, as well as the specific demographics of your recent growth. In addition, please bring any paperwork you think we may need upon reviewing your work." The three men got up, offered their hands, and she shook them, numbly

"I'll see you at five," she confirmed as they walked out of the room. She leaned back against the wall, grinning. She had to nail this dinner tonight, which brought up a whole new slew of problems. What could she do with Kade?

She gathered her presentation tools and walked outside, straight over to where Becky sat at her desk. She set her graphs and charts on the chair next to where she stood, grabbed a pen from Becky's pencil cup, and started sketching. "Becky, I need you to take this and get an actual replica model made of it. It needs to be big enough that we can see the details and it should be about as big as a dinner table. It needs to have these ramifications," she pointed at the drawing. "And, I need you to make finger sized model paintings of these," she handed a three-page collection of various artworks of Paul's, "and I need you to make four copies of our demographics of visitors, how each demographic has contributed fiscally, and the necessary paperwork to add an exhibition to our branch."

Becky nodded, writing it all down. "Okay, what should I do with all of this?"

"I need it in my hands by five at the Café Cabernet. You'll need to leave here by 4:10 to make it there in plenty of time, and I'll meet you there around 4:45. It needs to be perfect," she looked up, staring at her assistant.

Becky nodded again, making eye contact, "No problem ma'am. Oh, and I'm sorry about Kade, I didn't realize until he'd opened the door…." She trailed off, but Pam waved her off, smiling.

"Thanks Becky. You're the best assistant ever," she said, hurrying out of her office and down the hall to find Kade.

She noticed her purse was knocked over at the table and she ran over to it, quickly stuffing everything back into it as quickly as she could, noticing she had three missed calls already, all within the past twenty minutes. Her eyes darted around the room for Kade, and she gasped when she finally saw him in the corner of the exhibit, coloring on the walls.

"KADE THOMAS ANDERSON!" She hollered, running toward him and yanking at his arm. "You know better than to color on the walls!" She took all of the crayons out from his hands as he sat there staring at her, tears forming in his eyes. "BECKY!" she yelled down the hall, turning her attention to Kade and helping him up on his feet. Her assistant came running, her black heels clanking against the tile floors of the museum.

"Yes?"

"Can you get this taken care of?" Pam asked apologetically pointing at the crayon marks. Becky nodded and smiled lightly. Pam turned her attention back to her son as Becky took off down the corridors to get maintenance.

"Kade, why would you color on the walls?" She asked, crouching down to his level and trying her hardest not to sound angry.

"I just…" he looked away, but she reached up and touched his chin, turning it back towards her. He sighed. "I just thought since you really wanted the new paintings from that bald man to fill up this empty space I would help." She smiled softly and patted his head.

"Well, thank you, but no more coloring on the walls, you hear?" She said, and Kade nodded. "You're my little artist, I know." She turned and looked at the crayon markings and pointed at one, "That horse looks amazing."

He smiled up at her. "His name is Roger. After Mr. Rogers. From the neighborhood." She laughed and took his hand, grabbing his backpack and putting it on his back as she led him out to the streets of New York City. They walked toward the Chuck E. Cheese, Kade chattering the entire time.

After getting glow in the dark stamps on their hands for entrance, Kade piped up. "Mommy, what does B-I-T-C-H spell?"

She whirled around to face him. "Where did you see that word?"

"It's calling you," he said, reaching his hand inside her purse and handing it to her. "It's been calling you all morning." She groaned and patted his butt toward the playground, going to sit down in one of the booths.

"Hello?" she sputtered, trimming her nails against the wooden table. _Who did I save as 'bitch' in my phone? _She wondered.

"Listen up you little—Who is this?" A snotty voice screeched.

"Um, Pam… Who is this?"

"Veronica," the voice replied stiffly. "Who are you and what are you doing with my ex-husband's phone?"

"Uhh…" Pam sputtered, unsure how to handle the difficult woman. "We must have switched phones by accident in the cab. I can tell him you called…" she trailed off.

"You shared a cab ride with him?" She sneered. "How long have you been screwing him?"

Pam gasped. "I'm not "screwing" him," she whispered, looking around to make sure no kids were within earshot. "We met at school this morning. It was Records Day and neither of us realized it."

She scoffed. "He wouldn't." Pam pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at it, sticking her tongue out at the nasty woman, knowing why Jim had programmed her in the way he had.

"Anyway, would you please remind Jim that Rib and I will be unavailable this week," the voice continued. _Who is Ribeye?_ Pam opened her mouth to ask, but Veronica continued. "I forgot to write on his papers that Charlie is not to have dessert, any sort of nuts or legumes, and she can only drink soy milk. We don't want her drinking anything that isn't organic."

Pam nodded, "Okay, I can tell him."

"Oh, and please tell him that I don't want Charlie around any strange women while she is staying with him this week," Pam could hear the disgust dripping from her voice, and as she was about to come back with a retort, a click sounded on the other end. She pulled the phone away from her ear and stuck her middle finger up against it, before setting it down on the table and going up to the counter to order a medium cheese pizza and two drinks for her and Kade.

She looked over at the playground, spotted her son, bought some tokens, and went back to the table, picking up the cell phone and dialing her own number by heart.

"Uh hey," his voice came in by the third ring and she could hear Charlotte—Charlie?—squealing in the background.

"I have your phone," she stated, and she could hear him laughing. "And I hope you haven't been feeding that child anything non-organic or _Veronica _will have my ass," she said, adding an extra level of snootiness at his ex-wife's name.

He sobered up immediately. "She called you? I am so sorry…." She laughed lightly. "Okay, so I guess we need to switch phones. Where are you?"

"I'm at the Chuck E Cheese on 5th," she replied, and she heard him call out at Charlotte not to do whatever it was she was doing.

"How long will you be there," he asked, and she heard a lot of ruffling in the background.

"For a while. I have another presentation at five on this side of town anyway, so we'll stay until I can figure out what to do with Kade."

"Okay, I'll see you in twenty minutes," he said, and she could hear the rush in his voice. She imagined him pulling Charlotte off the monkey bars and lifting her into his arms, carrying her down the road.

"Okay, I've got lunch for everyone if you guys want it," he smiled and said thank you before hanging up. At that moment, Kade came running up.

"Mommy! When's the pizza gonna be here?" He asked. She laughed.

"Soon, baby, but we're not going to eat it until your friend Charlotte gets here." Kade grinned and clapped happily, hugging his mother and running back to the playground. The pizza came to the table three minutes before Jim and Charlotte did. Kade ran up as soon as he saw Charlotte and they shared a quick hug before sitting down to the table and eating. Pam blotted at her pizza, trying to soak up all of the grease into her napkin before sending it down her body. Jim stared at her for a moment, stuffing the pizza in his mouth, grease and all.

Two slices in, Kade and Charlotte ran off from the table to the ball pit, laughing as they threw balls at each other. "Oh, so here's your phone," Pam said, pulling it out of her purse and handing it to him.

"I am SO sorry," he said, taking it from her. "Nobody should have to deal with Veronica, especially not you."

Pam chewed on her crust thoughtfully. "Excuse me for being rude when I ask you this," she said, looking up as Jim dangled a piece of pizza over his mouth like a hyena. "But why did you marry her? I mean, she's obviously not a very…"

"Kind woman?" He asked, and she laughed, nodding lightly. "Well, Veronica and I met in college. I was her brother's best friend's roommate. And we hit it off senior year, and you know how college is…" She looked at him, bewildered.

"Oh!" she said, clasping her hands together. "You were one of _those_ guys…"

He laughed. "Yeah, I was one of those guys. Anyway, Charlotte was an oops baby… We found out Veronica was pregnant two weeks before finals."

"Ah," Pam said, leaning back against the seat. "So you did the noble thing and married the B-I-T-C-H, --thanks for teaching my son that word, by the way—to help take care of Charlotte."

Jim's eyes widened. "Uh, sorry bout that… And yeah. We got married. When Charlotte was about two Veronica started going through her little midlife crisis and went out to bars at night and started hooking up with younger guys, where she met Rib," Jim said his name with such disdain that Pam actually moved back a bit.

"Oh! I thought she said Ribeye. She must have said Rib and I. Whoops," She laughed, and Jim joined in.

"Yeah, Rib," he said, giving her a lopsided grin and shrug. "I think he was….uh, the product of two people who were very high on life…" She giggled, taking a sip of her water with lemon, when he continued. "Anyway, she came home, decided she wanted to marry Rib, and unfortunately, the New York state laws don't allow polygamy, so here we are."

Pam reached out and touched his hand lightly, "Well, I would say I'm sorry, but I've met her, so…." Jim laughed and Pam smiled, when all of a sudden something struck her in the back of the head. Jim looked up quickly and she whipped her head around, looking for the pulpitrator.

And that was when she noticed him standing there, laughing. _Oh God, can my day get any worse? _She groaned, putting her head in her hands. Unfortunately, he saw her too, and he started walking toward her with such a fierceness that she scooted closer to the window without even thinking about it.

"Who is that?" Jim muttered, and Pam gave him a stare.

"My Veronica," she replied, and Jim lowered his gaze to the table as she turned and smiled sweetly at Roy.

"Pammy?" He asked, coming up next to her, gripping the shoulders of a child around Kade's age. She grimaced when she saw the young boy.

"Uh, I go by Pam now, thanks," she replied, looking at the little boy. "What's your name? How old are you?"

"I'm Roy Jr. I'm five," he said, holding up six fingers. The kid was obviously stupid. Pam smiled at this thought.

"Wow, a five year old. How'd _that_ happen," she asked, staring at Roy. "We've only been divorced for two years." He stuttered and held on to the boy's shoulders, backing away slightly… "Uh, right, well, it was good to see you. Sorry about the uh, ball…" Roy said.

Pam looked up at him. "Your other son is in the ballpit. I would suggest you leave before he sees you, and I have to explain to him again why you're scum." Roy looked taken aback as Roy Jr.'s face popped up and questioned his father.

"Cmon kid, we're leaving." He said, dragging Roy Jr. by the hand outside and into the parking lot. Pam watched them out of the corner of her eye, tears gathering at the corners of them and she put her head in her hands, trying to wipe them away.

"I'm uh… sorry you had to witness that," she said, looking back up, past Jim to watch Kade and Charlotte playing in the ballpit. Jim reached out and touched her hand lightly, and when she looked up at him, she saw the concerned look on his face.

"Well, at least our kids know the difference between five and six," he said, shrugging. She laughed and took a sip of her lemon water.

* * *

Review, or chapter 6 stays on our computers... Thanks loves!!! 


	6. Just Another Manic Relationship

_Hello everyone! Thanks for all the reviews on Chapter 5. We really love the fact that you guys are enjoying this story. :) We hope you'll enjoy Chapter 6 just as much! Happy New Year!_

_Review Time:  
MrsBigTuna - The Rib/Ribeye thing just sort of came out of nowhere. The name Rib totally cracks me up, so having Jim make fun of it was totally necessary. And yeah, Roy is an idiot. And Veronica is definitely a B. We're glad you think it was construed correctly. :)  
ARSpunky - We're really glad you came out of hiding to review on our story. One Fine Day is one of my favorites too, so it's been a lot of fun writing out own little version of it. We hope you come back and keep reviewing!  
DeanParadise - Thanks! We'll definitely keep writing as long as you guys keep telling us how much you love it!  
Jamlover - LoL - I'm glad you felt like you should walk away from family time for us. Haha:) Thank you for saying we're amazing, that was really nice.  
EmptyHallway - Thank you, here you go!  
gilmoregurl55 - I'm glad you liked the last chapter. We didn't want the characters to be too different from their actual characters on the show, but taking them into a different setting we did have to change it up a bit, so we're glad you think we're doing a good job!  
Flonkerton Champ - Happy Holidays to you too! We're glad you were able to let us know what you think, but we both know what it's like to be busy!  
Nutmeggedya - Happy New Year! I loved the B thing too. Freakin' hilarious.  
Elly10 - I'm pretty sure you can't marry this story. LoL. But, I'll look it up - there might not be a law. Hehe. Kidnapping though, very much illegal. Having no Jam Christmas was really upsetting huh? I wasn't too crazy about it myself. It was sad. I'm glad you keep reading the story over and over again. LoL. You let us know if you find something wrong. :)  
xliteratiwhorex - Thanks! We love that Roy's kid is stupid too.  
ktface3 - Thanks so much! It did seem right that Jim would only marry Veronica because he got her pregnant. They were not a good fit otherwise. And Roy is definitely scummy, so we're glad we portrayed that correctly.  
maddikinz940 - We love you too! Thanks!  
kerber1920 - Thanks! I know what it's like having a boss in the way of getting some serious writing done. Haha. Good luck and Happy Holidays to you too!_

* * *

Jim watched Pam covertly as she dabbed at the slice of pizza in front of her again. She'd take a napkin off the center of the table, fold it in quarters, and then press gently on the top of the greasy pizza. Once she'd dabbed a half-inch section, she'd toss the napkin onto a used plate and then do it all over again. Once she had finished…8 napkins later…she used a fork and a knife and cut the entire slice into half-inch squares. When the pizza was cut, and officially as grease-less as possible, he watched her take the fork, stab a small square of pizza and then stare at it. She had stared at it for just long enough that Jim couldn't take it anymore. "You know," he said, breaking her trance. His mouth was full, but_ since when do I care what other people think?_ "You're supposed to eat that." He gestured to the piece of pizza on her fork with his own grease-covered piece.

He watched Pam look back down at the pizza and then up at him. "I know," she said indignantly. "I'm just trying to decide if I really _should_ eat it. It's definitely not good for me."

Jim bit into his pizza again and contemplated what she'd just said. Pam had finally put the first bite in her mouth when Jim looked at her and smiled. "Tell me, why exactly is eating pizza bad for you?"

Pam stared at him as she chewed her food. _I hope she's not actually chewing each piece 25 times._ "It will go straight to my hips," she said. "Grease, cheese, carbs…all of it goes straight to my hips. I can't have that." She looked exasperated and it was starting to stress Jim out. He wasn't a fan of being stressed.

"But why can't you have that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why can't you have it 'go straight to your hips'?" Jim took another bite of his pizza and swallowed it, almost not even chewing it. He choked a little, but recovered. _See, you don't have to chew your food 25 times for it to go down the hatch._

Pam rolled her eyes and carefully picked out another small square of pizza. "Because Jim. I don't want to gain a bunch of weight and be unhealthy."

Jim's mouth was full again, but he asked, "Do you eat pizza a lot?"

Pam made a face of disgust. "No," she said. "I only allow Kade to have pizza on special occasions…and I try not to have it at all at those times."

"What do you eat?"

"Oh, I usually have a salad or something of that nature."

Jim didn't like that answer. "Don't you like pizza?" He asked the question in a way that sounded like every person in the world should like pizza.

"Well, yes," Pam answered. "Of course I like pizza. I just…"

Jim interrupted her. "So then why wouldn't you allow yourself to just eat the pizza when you want it?"

"Well, I…"

I mean, you look like you're a woman that takes care of herself. You probably work out religiously. You look great."

"I…thank…"

"Why not allow yourself the indulgence of a slice of pizza once in a while? It's only natural."

Pam put up her hand to stop him. "Excuse me!" she said a little loudly. Jim finally stopped his rant and Pam smiled before stabbing three squares of pizza and putting them into her mouth all at once. With her mouth full she said, "Happy now?"

Jim grinned, bit off a large bite of his pizza and said with a full mouth, "Yes. We just need to work on you eating it with your hands now."

Pam swallowed her piece and said, "That will most likely never happen. But, thank you for the compliment about how I look." Jim watched her face redden slightly. "It's been a long time since anyone has even noticed that."

Jim smiled. "Nah," he said. "People notice. They just aren't as vocal as I am." Pam laughed and he laughed along with her. Jim swallowed the rest of his piece of pizza, and as he was reaching for another he asked, "So, that ex of yours? He didn't really appreciate you huh?"

Pam looked taken aback at his forwardness, and Jim felt he needed to apologize. As he opened his mouth to, she said gently, a small quiver in her voice, "No." Jim watched the tears well into her eyes and she brushed them away with the back of her hand. My _God, you're an idiot, Halpert. You shouldn't have brought it up._ "Sometimes I don't think he ever even loved me."

"I hate to ask," he said gently. "But, how'd you meet? What's your story?"

Pam sighed, took another bite of pizza, and after swallowing said, "Roy and I met at a high school graduation party. We were the only two sober people there, and we just hit it off. He seemed to get me, you know? Too bad I didn't realize that was like the only day he'd been sober in the last 5 years…or the next 10." Pam sighed. "Anyway, we were inseparable all the way through college." Pam stopped and tilted her head. "Well, college for me, junior college for Roy." Jim nodded at Pam's clarification and let her go on. "We always spent time together after my classes were done. But, then as time went on he would spend more nights 'out with the guys,' than home with me. I was okay with it though. I had a lot of studying to do and he would just distract me." Jim nodded again. "Once he had finished his two years, instead of getting his bachelor's in _anything_, he decided to take over his dad's hot dog stand." Jim choked on his pizza and Pam giggled. "Yeah, I know. It's over on 7th."

Jim looked excited. "Yes! I knew he looked familiar!" he exclaimed. "I've been to his cart before." Pam was laughing hard. "Every time I ask him for a dog with _mustard_ and every time he asks, 'Mayo? Mustard? Or Relish?'"

Pam laughed harder and snorted slightly, causing Jim to break into hysterics. Once they finally finished laughing, Pam took a sip of her water and continued her story. "So anyway, we got married just before I graduated. I thought I had finally found my niche in the world, you know? I had a career, a husband, everything a girl could want." Pam bit her lip, and Jim looked down at the table, hoping it would let her feel like she could go on. "Then he started going out more and more. He was spending less time at home and more time with his friends. He'd come home reeking of beer and cigarette smoke, and occasionally some cheap perfume." Jim felt his blood boiling, but he tried to remain calm. "I tried everything. I suggested couples therapy even." Her voice had taken on a feeling of earnest and Jim wanted to reach out and hold her. "He just didn't want anything to do with it. He said we were fine. I knew we weren't though. So, I suggested a baby." Pam's eyes drifted away from the table and over to where Kade was playing in the ball pit with Charlotte. Jim watched her face and saw it soften as Kade screamed out, a smile on his face, and chased after Charlotte. She looked back at Jim. "I thought it would fix everything. But, it didn't. It was just like trying to put a finger bandage on a scraped knee." She stopped for a little while, staring at the straw in her cup and Jim realized she couldn't go on anymore.

He reached out his hand and placed it on top of hers gently. He felt her stiffen, but she didn't pull away. "I'm really sorry, Pam," he said.

Pam looked up at him, her eyes shiny with tears and she smiled. "Yeah, so am I." They looked at each other for a long time, holding the moment in suspended air. Jim felt some connection with her that he had never, in his life, felt with another woman before. _Knock it off, Halpert. Women are trouble._

He was staring at her intently, when all of a sudden her eyes went wide with something he couldn't quite place—fear?—and she shook her head, breaking the gaze as she coughed lightly. "So, um, what do you have going on for the rest of the day?" she asked him, and he smiled. "I'm sorry; it was so insensitive of me not to ask earlier."

He waved her off, "Don't worry about it; you were stressed. I understand." She smiled and looked away for a moment, before returning back to meet his gaze. She raised her eyebrows, giving him a quizzical look. He laughed. "Oh right, my day!"

She laughed, "Uh, yeah, _your_ day. Spill it, Halpert."

"Well, I'll have you know that my day is nowhere near as interesting as yours has turned out to be," she laughed, and he continued. "I own a restaurant, I'm not sure if I told you that."

"I overheard it in the car, I think, but you didn't tell me. Which one?"

"It's called Café Cabernet. It's one of those Olive Garden types, where you get 'free breadsticks' but we really add the price of the breadsticks in with the rest of the meal." She laughed; her eyes wide with recognition.

"You own Café Cabernet?" Her face lit up. "Wow." He stared at her for a moment, before she chuckled. "I'm eating dinner there tonight, so I really hope you don't charge me for my free breadsticks."

Jim brought his hands to his face, pretending to be distraught. "Oh no, I let out my secret!" She giggled and he looked up at her, noticing how her nose scrunched when she laughed. He smiled, "What are you doing there tonight?"

"I have a dinner meeting to hopefully close the deal," she said, her eyes lighting up as she made a showcase of her crossed fingers.

"Well, I'll see what I can do to help you out," he said, smiling. She smiled back at him.

"We actually have a really big dinner party tonight," he said, and she looked up at him, interested. _Why is she so interested in this stuff? _"This guy, uh, Swanson. He owns all of these fancy-schmancy hotels around America." He snapped his fingers and looked at her with a smile. "I bet you might have heard of them; Holiday Inns?"

She nodded, rolling her eyes. "Of course I've heard of the Holiday Inn."

He nodded, "Of course you have. Well, Swanson is apparently fed up with Denny's," she giggled, and he gave her a look, telling her this was serious business. Her eyes went wide, and her face sobered up for a moment before he rolled his eyes and laughed. "Anyway, he wants to drive out Denny's by putting a restaurant chain in each of his hotels. And he's looking around New York for the best ones," he waved his hand, taking a sip of his drink.

"And he's looking at yours?"

"Yeah, tonight they're having dinner there, and I have a meeting with him at 1:15 to go over the finances and things. I haven't looked at any of the information or anything, but I'm pretty confident."

Her face registered shock. "Confident? What if he asks you about quarterly numbers, or opportunity costs, or-or-or relational culture or something?"

"What's that?" Jim asked, taking a bite of the crust on his plate.

She stared at him for a moment before shaking her head lightly, smiling. They sat in silence for a moment, him watching her, she watching the kids playing in the ball pit. "What are you going to do with Charlotte?" She asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know, I'll figure it out."

"Jim, it is noon. You only have an hour."

"An hour is 60 minutes. That's a whole lot of minutes," he said, and she studied him for a minute before rolling her eyes.

He rested his hand back down on the table, touching her fingers just enough to let her know he was there, but not enough for her to cause a scene. She didn't flinch or pull away, she just sat there, looking past him as Charlotte and Kade threw balls at each other in the ball pit.

"They're so cute," she said, smiling. "Charlotte's really gorgeous, Jim."

He smiled, watching them. "She is." Pam wrinkled her forehead for a minute and looked at him, and he looked back, laughing a bit. "I mean, thank you. That's um, yeah. Kade is a handsome chap, I do say," he added in an English voice.

She laughed, opening her mouth to say something, when all of a sudden his phone rang.

He realized he was still holding her hand and he pulled back quickly. Pam stopped staring at him, her face turning slightly red and she rapidly started gathering the trash on the table. "Excuse me," he said and then reached for his phone. "Hello?" he said answering it.

"Jim, we have a problem." Jim recognized the sound of his manager, Ted's, voice. "I know you've got a problem with Charlotte today buddy, but this can't wait. You _need_ to come in."

"What's wrong?" Jim asked, and he saw Pam look over at him. "This should be simple Teddy."

"Well it's not," Ted said. "We're short on staff today because Albert and Fredrick called in; something about a 24-hour bug going around." Jim groaned. "And with all that, plus the lack of delivery of beef, we have our hands full."

"I thought I told you earlier to get to the market and get some beef?" Jim asked, exasperated. He saw Pam look up at him and giggle slightly. He shrugged his shoulders and smiled at her.

"I know that's what you said," Ted answered. "The problem there is that we need a lot of beef. I mean _a lot_ Jim. We have a restaurant that needs beef and not just any market is going to have enough beef to supply us for a day. You understand?"

Jim noticed the hysterical sound of Ted's voice and sighed. "Alright," Jim said, glancing at his watch. It was 12:00 on the dot. "Give me 30 minutes to figure something out and I'll be there." Jim slammed his phone shut before Ted could go on and cursed softly to himself. He was rubbing the back of his neck, trying to think of what he could do with Charlotte when she came bounding over to him.

"Daddy, Daddy! Come play in the ball pit with us!" She grabbed his hand and tried to pull him along.

He didn't budge. "Princess, honey, I'm sorry baby. But we need to find out if Grandma can meet us at the restaurant and take you today. I have to get to work."

He watched her face fall and his heart broke. "But Daddy, I thought we were going to play together today? I don't want to leave Kade either."

"I know you don't sweetie," he said kissing her gently on the forehead. "But Daddy has a really important meeting this afternoon. I really need to work." Her lip stuck out slightly and her head dropped. He stuck a finger under her chin and lifted it. "Hey now, we have all week, you know that."

"I know, but I have school the rest of the week." She was pouting and Jim didn't know what to do._ I don't do well with the pouting. I always give in. God give me strength._

God didn't have to give him strength, "You know what, Jim?" He looked up to see Pam holding Kade in her arms, smiling down at him. "Why don't we try something?"

He picked up Charlotte, repositioning her in his lap and kissed the top of her head. "What's that?"

"Well, you know I have a huge meeting at the restaurant tonight anyways," she said, sitting down opposite him at the table. "Until then, though, Kade and I were just going to go to the park or play or you know, do whatever comes to mind. Why don't I take Charlotte off your hands until the meeting?"

"Oh, I couldn't ask you to do that," Jim said, ignoring the protests of Charlotte and Kade as they begged him to do so.

"You're not asking; I'm offering," she said, thoughtfully. "I won't let you say no. Though, if it makes you feel better, you can help me out too."

"How's that?" Jim asked, skeptically.

"Well, you could take Kade during my meeting tonight. I think I heard you say earlier you don't actually have to be at the restaurant for the dinner party. Mine shouldn't last more than an hour or two."

Jim brought his finger to his chin, pretending to think it over. He leaned in, real close and cocked an eyebrow. "And I can trust you with my child?"

She looked insulted for a moment, pulling her head back to stare at him, her mouth opening to defend herself before he smiled, winking at her. She laughed lightly. _Of course he was kidding. _She rationalized. _Any father would trust me with his children._

"Sounds like a plan, Stan," he said, grabbing his jacket and tapping Charlotte's butt as she hopped off his lap.

"The name's Pam," Pam replied, grinning as he kissed Charlotte on the forehead.

He snapped his fingers, walking toward the door. "And all of this time I thought it was Martha." She giggled, both of the kids looking at her funny.

He was halfway out the door when she thought to call out, "Wait, Jim! Is there anything I need to know about Charlotte?"

He turned around, walking backwards, his hands in the air. "Her name's Charlotte! That's all I got!" She rolled her eyes, taking the kids hands, and leading them over to the ball pit.

* * *

_Okay, so go review now. We really like to know what you guys think of the story, or if you have suggestions, so please remember to review. This is a fan fiction, meaning it's for the FANS! So your voice will be heard:) Plus, we don't want to continue to update a story no one wants to read. LoL. Thanks y'all! And have a Happy New Year!_


	7. Just Another Manic Freakout

And here we are, bringing you Chapter 7 to your lovely homes all across the world. We hope you enjoy.

Your review responses:  
Kerber- Thanks! We kind of believe that the JAM connection is one that's natural and easy in general--why would that change in the city that never sleeps?  
KT- Yes, that was what we were going for, so thanks so much! The kids are definitely more in the plot coming up--we'd planned on it being JAM focused in the beginning, and then we'd slowly incorporate more Kadelette or Charde. Take your pick.  
Literati- Thank you!  
Elly- Because you love us. Katy doesn't mind (AG is speaking for her).  
Alison- Thanks so much dahlin'! They're adorable. Period.  
Yabberli- Thanks! We really are trying hard to stay true to who Jim and Pam are, which can be difficult seeing as we're not sure how Pam would really react, at say, Chuck E Cheese, but hey, we can only imagine.  
Dean- Heh, us too! Thanks so much--we really enjoy our freedom, but at the same time, it's quite a journey to be on, knowing the characters as we do and trying to incorporate them in something that well, we don't.  
JamLover- Right. He is like Jack, but at the same time, he's so completely Jim it's funny. Hah. And Pam is just Pam... haha.  
Dancer- More Jam, comin' to ya.  
iluvhalpert- Thanks!  
LittleMiss- Thanks so much!  
Flonkerton- Wow! Thanks for the long review! I'm going to PM you about it, it's way way long and there's just so much to say. :)

* * *

Kade grabbed Pam's left hand, and Charlotte grabbed her right as they pulled her over to the playground part of Chuck E' Cheese. "Mommy! Mommy! Watch me and Charlotte go up in the tunnels!"

She nodded. "Okay! I will!" she called as they both let go of her hands, racing up the makeshift stairs to the tunnel. She watched as they chased each other, through the blue tunnels to the red, into the yellow and the green and then back to the blue tunnels. She smiled as she watched them. _I'm so glad Kade has found someone to play with. _She heard Kade and Charlotte scream out in delight and she laughed gently to herself. _And he definitely picked a good little girl to play with. She's so adorable._ Pam walked around the tunnels watching the kids as they went into a different part. _Not to mention she has a pretty adorable dad._ She sighed to herself, following the kids with her eyes. She was lost in her thoughts when she felt someone tug on the side of her skirt. She looked down to see a small blonde girl staring up her, her face red from crying.

She bent down to the little girl's level and gave her a genuine smile. "Hi sweetie, I'm Pam. What's your name?" she asked. The girl didn't look any older than three.

"Anna," she said, breaking into sobs.

"What's wrong Anna?" Pam asked, patting the poor girl's head. Her blonde hair was in braids, and her blue eyes glistened with tears. She was wearing a uniform of some sort, blue and green plaid and an oxford shirt that said "Maclay Pre-School" on it. Pam instantly recognized it as one of the most expensive pre-schools in the area.

She sobbed something that Pam assumed was about wanting her mommy, so she picked the small girl up, rubbing her back. "It's okay, sweetie. We'll find her," she said, searching frantically for a woman that resembled the child. Anna was crying loudly in her arms, and all of a sudden, Pam felt her being taken away by a young girl—probably not older than 23 or 24.

"It's okay Anna banana," she said, singing lightly in her ear. "I'm so sorry; I was helping her brother on the other side with the basketballs. She just wandered off." The girl looked frantic. "I didn't even realize until I heard her crying, and by that time, she was all the way over here." She glanced back the other way, as if trying to keep an eye on the other child.

"Don't worry about it. I understand," Pam said, smiling.

"Anna, can you say thank you?" the woman asked the child, tickling her sides lightly.

"Thank you Pammmm," she said, giggling. Pam smiled as they walked off together, waving goodbye to the little girl before she turned around, looking back up at the tunnels. _Where are they? _She walked all around the tunnels, before she finally spotted Kade in a red one, giggling as he talked to a little girl, who did not look a thing like Charlotte. _Trying to get that boy not to talk to strangers is like trying to get the Pope to believe in Buddha._

_Where is Charlotte? _She kept walking, searching more frantically, even sticking her head up the tunnels at one point. She jumped back quickly, narrowly missing being hit by a small foot attached to a slightly chubby little boy who was on the way down one of the slides. _Holy cow, that wouldn't have felt great._ She straightened up and started looking up into the tunnels above again when she heard the screaming in a blue tunnel on the other side. She raced over there, looking up to see Charlotte, screaming her head off, stuck in one of the holes of the tunnel that were normally made for four year olds, not six year olds.

"Charlotte, honey, it's okay," Pam tried to reason with her, but at the same time, she was freaking out herself. "Stop crying, honey."

She was shouting. She knew she was, but it wasn't in a mean way. It was just in that I-gotta-talk-so-loud-she-can-hear-me-in-outer-space-over-her-screams way. It sounded loud. Charlotte started crying louder, and Pam put her head in her hands. _What am I going to do?_ She saw Kade crawling toward Charlotte, and she wondered what he was going to do. She watched him stop just outside of the tunnel. His face contorted into something like fear when he saw her crying, stuck there. Instead of trying to help her out though, he thought it was of his best interest to go down the slide, run up to her, and say, "Mommy! Mommy! Charlotte's stuck up there! Get her down, Mommy!"

"I don't know what to do," she said softly, her mind whirling. _Do I send Kade back up to get her? What if he gets stuck? I could get them to cut her out of there…. That's silly… Firemen? They rescue cats from trees… Charlotte's not a cat._

"Mommy, go up there and see her. Maybe she'll come down if you're with her!" Kade said, exasperated that his mother hadn't thought of this yet.

Pam looked around, sighing. _There's no way my ass is going to fit up there in a tunnel for four year olds. _She looked at Kade, his face expectant, and then up at Charlotte, who was on the verge of hysteria.

"Charlotte!" She yelled, and the little girl looked at her. "I'm going to come up there and get you, okay? Stop crying if you can." Pam ran toward the entrance of what she perceived to be hell, climbing up two stairs when she felt a pull on her leg.

"Ma'am, you can't go up there," a Chuck E Cheese employee said, her hair frizzed as she popped her gum.

"That's my kid up there," Pam said, kicking her off and crawling up the space, despite the shouts of several disgruntled employees telling her she wasn't allowed because she wasn't less than four feet tall.

_Oh my god, I'm going to get stuck… _She went through a few of the tunnels and then came to her biggest challenge yet. _Oh, God, I shouldn't have had that slice of pizza…_ She wiggled through the opening of the smallest tunnel yet, pulling herself up army style until she reached Charlotte's face. "Charlotte, baby, are you okay?"

She wiped at her eyes. "I'm scared."

"What are you scared of, honey?" Pam's voice was calm, but she was frantic inside. _What can I do to help this little girl?_ And her bigger question: _How am I going to get both of us out of the tunnel?_

"I…" she stuttered, "I don't know."

Pam smiled, chuckling lightly inside. "Well, then, I guess it's not worth it to be scared, huh?"

Charlotte shook her head lightly. "Will you help me? My butt's too big."

Pam leaned down and whispered in Charlotte's ear, "You're not alone. Every woman's butt is too big." Charlotte giggled, and Pam laughed, pulling lightly at Charlotte's waist until she popped through the small corridors of the tunnel.

She smiled up at Pam and took her hand, "C'mon, let's go down there so we can play with Kade. I don't think I want to be at Chuck E Cheese anymore."

Pam smiled. _You and me both, sister! _They inched their way down the tunnel until they got to the slide, and Charlotte went down easily, but her words rang true in Pam's ears. _My butt is too big. _She slid down the slide, sure that no part of her was actually touching the slide, and the friction hurt her too-big-butt.

"Ma'am," an employee approached her, just as Charlotte and Kade took her hands. "We do not allow adults to play on the apparatus."

"I wasn't playing! My kid was stuck up there!" she defended herself, looking at the man like he was crazy. He only mimicked and returned her look.

"Ma'am, we're going to have to ask you to leave our premises," the man replied, and she stared at him.

"Fine," she sneered at him, taking Kade and Charlotte by the hand and leading them out the door, not even bothering to have the young employee check their hands for the appropriate numbers.

* * *

"Mommy, what are we going to do now?" Kade asked, and Charlotte looked up at her expectantly. _Oh God, what could they do? It was too cold to just go to the park or playground… She still had two hours before she turned them over to Jim, so she couldn't exactly take them to an activity, per say… Cookies! _

She bent down to their level, "How would you guys like it if we went home and baked cookies? We can decorate them too!"

"YAY!" the choruses came from the kids, and Pam laughed, pulling them down the street and into one of the stores to buy some eggs and milk. After twenty minutes of explaining to Kade why they couldn't use chocolate milk, they walked out the door and into a cab, taking them back to the apartment. Pam led them upstairs and opened the door, chuckling as Kade grabbed Charlotte's hand and pulled her toward the back.

"My room is awesome!" he yelled, pulling her and she giggled, happy to be following him. While they were in the back room, Pam spread some cookie dough out on the sheet, put it in the oven, and headed into her room to get changed. _I am not going to be wearing this same outfit to dinner tonight that's for sure._

Meanwhile, Kade and Charlotte sat playing with the toy trains. "Kade?" Charlotte asked, as she brought the blue train around the track.

"Yeah?"

"Do you have a daddy?" she asked.

Kade kept pushing the red train around the track. "Nope."

"Oh." She said, pushing her train. She had a thoughtful look on her face. "Do you want a daddy, Kade?"

He looked up and shrugged, "I guess so. But he'd have to be really nice. And treat my mommy real good. Mommy can't teach me how to play soccer or baseball, my daddy would have to be able to do that."

Charlotte kept pushing the tracks. "My mommy and daddy are divorced. I really want another mommy to have when I go to daddy's house. Daddy can never get my hair right."

Kade sighed, "All my mommy ever wants to do is play with my hair." They giggled, running the trains down the tracks and smashing into the conductor, until Charlotte stopped.

"Kade?"

"Yeah?"

"My daddy knows how to play soccer and baseball. And he's really nice." Kade looked up at her. "Can your mommy put my hair in a barrette?"

Kade laughed. "My mommy can put your hair anywhere she wants it to go!" Charlotte giggled.

"Wouldn't it be cool if your mommy was my mommy?" Charlotte asked.

"But that would mean my mommy would have to fall in love with your daddy, and I don't think my mommy's very interested in falling in love," Kade said, sadly.

"Well, let's make her!" Charlotte exclaimed, grinning. Kade turned to her, his eyes lit up with all of the mischief he could cause.

"We need a plan," Kade stated, and Charlotte grinned.

"Uh huh," she said, putting the train down, and hopping on Kade's bed.

* * *

Pam pulled the sugar cookies out of the oven, leaving them on top of the stove to cool for a moment while she pulled out all of the icing and sprinkles, along with two butter knives and a plate. She blew on the cookies for a few seconds before heading down the hall to Kade's room. "Kade?" she knocked on the door and opened it without waiting for the all-clear, surprised to see Kade and Charlotte sitting on the bed whispering.

They both looked up, right as she entered, guilty looks on their faces. "What's going on?" she asked, going into the room carefully and looking around.

"Nothing," they answered simultaneously, and just a little too quickly.

She eyed them suspiciously for a moment, before smiling, "Come on, hurry up. Cookies are done."

They turned to each other, grinning. "Cookies!" She laughed as they ran out of the room, nearly plowing her over on their race to reach the sugary desserts.

"Hey, don't touch! They're hot!" she called after them, running behind them to the counter. She quickly scooped the cookies off the pan and onto a plate, opening the frosting and handing each child a knife.

"I'm gonna make mine pink!" Charlotte declared, taking a large gob of the pink icing and spreading it on her cookie. She pulled out the sprinkles, emptying half the container on her cookie before Pam could stop her.

"Woah, that's enough sprinkles for now," Pam said, pulling the sprinkles out of Charlotte's hand as Kade spread blue icing across the top of the cookie. She put the sprinkles back up in the cupboard. Suddenly she felt something hit her back. She reached behind her, her face turning into a look of displeasure as she felt the sticky residue of icing on her fingers.

She turned around to see Charlotte throwing icing at Kade. He was giggling, throwing it back at her, when suddenly he saw Pam staring at him. He turned toward her, a sly smile. "Kade," her voice had taken on a warning tone, but he threw his hand back and lodged the blue icing straight at her face before she could get anymore of her threat out.

Her mouth dropped open, and she was about to punish him when she saw Charlotte throw some pink icing at Kade, and he laughed, throwing a glop right back at her. _I can punish Kade, but I can't very well punish somebody else's kid! _She opened the refrigerator, pulling out the third tub of icing—green—and stuck her hands inside. She ran over to Charlotte and Kade, smearing it on their faces.

Twenty minutes and four tubs of icing later, Pam was holding two very sticky, very dirty six-year-olds under the sink, trying to get their faces and hands cleaned off. She was covered in icing herself, and was mentally going through her wardrobe in her mind._ I need to find something else to wear…again. I knew I was premature in changing my clothes earlier._ She'd just finished cleaning up the kids when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She picked it up gingerly, noticing that she had a large glop of icing on her forefinger, and looked down at the number. She didn't recognize it.

She flipped open the phone, careful not to touch the icing to it, and said exasperatedly, "Hello?"

"Hey," he said; his voice sounded deeper on the phone than it normally did. "How are the kids? Is Charlotte behaving?" He asked it in a joking manner, which almost made it worse.

"We're getting cleaned up," Pam said, trailing off. "We were making cookies."

"Yum! Maybe you should bring me a few of those cookies," he said, and she laughed.

"I would do that," she answered, helping the kids down on the floor. She readjusted the phone between her shoulder and ear so she could put her hands under the water and get the icing off. "Except for the fact that they are a little more icing than cookie," she said.

Jim laughed. "That's the best part!"

Pam laughed and looked over at the kitchen table. It was covered in icing, dripping from almost all the surfaces within a 3 foot area of the table. She could see some little pieces of cookie peeking out between globs of icing and she sighed. "Maybe I'll get some to you tomorrow at school, once they've set," she said.

"Sounds good," he said. "Well listen, I just finished up here if you want to bring them on over. Or I can meet you halfway if you'd rather."

Pam contemplated for a second as she dried her hands off and then looked down at her icing-covered outfit. "How about we meet you there? I need to change real quickly and we can be there soon," she said smiling.

"Sure," Jim said into the phone and she could hear him rifling through some papers. "That would actually give me a few more minutes to go through some things here, just to make sure."

"Great," Pam said. She was in her room, kicking off her shoes and unbuttoning her suit pants. "Hey, out of curiosity, how did you get my number?"

Jim chuckled on the other end of the line. "It's this marvelous invention that phones have," he said and she could hear his smile. "It's called 'Recently Dialed'," he answered, and she felt a giggle rise to her throat. "So, I'll see you soon?"

"Yeah, see you soon," she replied, ending the call. She stood with the phone open in her hand for a moment before quickly pressing "Save" and programming his number into her phone. _I can always delete it later, right?_

Quickly she changed her clothes, pulling on yet another black pant suit, and slipped on a pair of shoes. _I really need to take all of these outfits to the dry cleaner. I hope they can get icing out._ She was holding the last pant suit in her hand and shaking her head lightly. She threw it down on the floor and rushed out of her bedroom, calling to the kids on her way, "Let's go you two! We have to meet Charlotte's daddy!" The kids came out of the room quickly, and Pam noticed an impish look on each other their faces._ I wonder what they're up to._ She helped them put their shoes on, and Charlotte grabbed her backpack from the hallway.

"Alright, do we have everything?" Pam asked, checking that the kids were presentable.

The kids looked up at her enthusiastically and shouted, "Yeah!"

Pam laughed. "Alright, then let's hit the road." She grabbed each of their hands after she had closed and locked the door and they hurried out of the building, trying to make it to the restaurant as fast as they could.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed! Review for 8, which, I must say, is pretty phenomenal. 


	8. Just Another Manic UhOh

_Okay, so y'all are getting Chapter 8 a little sooner than you normally would have. I have a busy weekend coming up and I won't be home for most of it. And since it's my turn to post a chapter, instead of making you wait all weekend, you get the chapter early. But, as always we would love some feedback. So, yeah, there you have it._

_Also, can I ask one tiny favor? TELL YOUR FRIENDS! I'm kind of surprised how many hits we have, but not nearly enough people are reviewing (of course we love, love you failthful reviewers - you're all awesome/excellent - hehe). YOU SILENT PEOPLE! YEAH, YOU! WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Okay? Thanks. :)_

_To your reviews:  
Jamlover - Thank you! We're so glad you like the change in Pam. At the beginning Pam was supposed to be stressed out and annoyed, but we didn't want it to take away from the fact that she is an excellent mom. Hopefully you can still see her stress, but her fun side as well.  
maddinkinz940 - You got your wish, we updated soon. :) As for seeing how the kids work their magic though, you'll have to wait just a little while longer.  
thewayiam1403 - Thanks! I'm glad you think we're doing a great job of putting Pam in another role other than receptionist.  
kerber1920 - Thank you! The kids are quite brilliant huh? LoL. Such a couple of smarty-pants.  
Yabberli - Thanks! The kids are fun to write. How do you think we're writing it? Hehe. Can you tell if there is a difference at all? You let me know what you think and then we'll let you know...probably at the end. But, a hint is that we are both writing and we both have ideas. Happy New Year to you too!  
xliteratiwhorex - Oh my gosh, don't die! LoL - Thanks!  
dancer288 - Thank you! We all want Pam to be fun as well as successful right:)  
katy04 - Wow, you're a genius.  
EmptyHallway - See, it's early! I know you're impressed. :)  
DeanParadise - Thank you! We're glad you enjoying it so much.  
ktface3 - The kids are adorable and completely innocent (okay, maybe not **completely** - hehe). They are a lot of fun to write. Pam definitely is still a great mother, and we wanted that to shine through her no matter how stressed she is. I'm glad everyone is enjoying that side of her as well._

_Okay, thanks everyone...Now go read. :)_

* * *

Jim sat in the back of the restaurant in his office. The door was open and he could hear the hustle and bustle going on just outside. Glancing up from the reports in front of him, he looked out to see Derek, one of the new waiters, rushing out of the kitchen with a tray full of food. Derek was not one of the most skilled waiters in Jim's restaurant. In all actuality, Derek was a klutz. And just as Jim was watching Derek hurry along to the table with his tray, he watched him trip over a purse sitting next to a woman's chair. _Oh God, please don't fall, please don't fall, please don't..._

Derek righted himself just as he made it to the table to deliver the food and Jim let out a shaky sigh of relief. It wasn't Derek's day to work, but with the call-offs, he needed to find someone who could come in and help fill in. Derek had been the only replacement he'd called who had actually answered the phone.

"_Derek?" Jim asked, his voice taking on a slightly panicky sound, which didn't suit him._

_Derek's voice was groggy when he answered, "Yeah?"_

_Jim was audibly happier. "Hey man, this is Jim Halpert, your boss." He could hear Derek rustling around, already getting up out of his bed. "I'm short staffed today and I'm hoping you can come in, buddy."_

"_Absolutely." Jim could tell the kid was already rushing around trying to get dressed. "When do you need me there?"_

"_As soon as possible," he said and then added, "Thanks a lot, I really appreciate it."_

"_No, no," Derek sounded extremely happy. "Thank __**you**__. I'm just so excited about working at the best bistro in New York," he said._

_Jim chuckled. _Man this kid is good with the brown-nosing._ "Thanks a lot, buddy. We'll see you here soon then."_

Now Jim watched as Derek passed out the food to the table and smiled before walking away.

Jim's office was just off the side of the kitchen. He had wanted to be able to sit in his office and watch what was going on in the restaurant, but still not draw a lot of attention to it. It was discreetly decorated in the same décor as the rest of the restaurant and was not at all cluttered like the rest of his life. Most people just walked past it like it wasn't even there. But, it still gave Jim the chance to see everything and that's what he wanted.

As Derek was walking away from the table Jim caught his eye and motioned with his hand for Derek to come into his office. Jim could see the worry etched on his face and made sure to smile at the young man as he walked in.

"How are things going, Derek?" Jim asked, gesturing towards a chair across from his desk for Derek to sit down.

Derek set the tray against the chair and sat, his eyes worried. "Not bad," he said, his eyes darting back and forth. "I guess you saw my little slip up out there?"

Jim just nodded, leaning back in his chair and setting his chin in the palm of his hand. "Yeah, but it's alright," he said. "You're getting better. It wasn't anything like your first day here when you dropped that whole plate of Spaghetti Bolognese on Mr. Thompson's lap." Jim chuckled at the memory, hoping it would lighten Derek's mood.

Derek smiled a little. "Yeah, that wasn't all that great huh?"

Jim shook his head and leaned forward in his chair again. He linked his hands together in front of him on the desk and looked over at Derek with a thoughtful gaze. "Listen buddy, you're doing just fine. All I want to say is that you need to watch where you're going. If, when you come out of the kitchen, you check what's ahead of you before you get going, you'll be much better off. They always say 'hindsight is 20/20.' Well, I say 'foresight is saving your ass'."

Derek grinned, but Jim saw a trace of uncertainty still hidden in his eyes. "I'm going to tell you something that I want you to swear you'll never repeat." Derek's head was nodding vigorously and he had a gleam in his eyes. "Okay," Jim's voice was slightly quieter to divulge his secret. "Growing up, I always wanted to own a restaurant, so I knew I had to work in them. You know, get the feeling of being in that kind of environment…learn from the best." Derek nodded again. "I was a waiter from the time I was 16 years old." He paused to watch Derek's face light up. "But I'm telling you, Derek, I was the clumsiest waiter you'd ever meet."

Derek smiled when he saw Jim's. "Really?" he asked.

Jim nodded. "Oh yeah," he said, leaning back in his chair again, an amused expression on his face. "I was skinny, tall, and all arms and legs. I was just really awkward from the time puberty hit until I was almost 21-years-old. Not a great combination when you're trying to serve heavy trays of food." He stretched out his legs in front of him and continued, "I once caught a woman's hair on fire with a flaming dessert." Derek laughed and Jim smiled. "So, I know what you're going through. And you'll come through it." Jim was standing and Derek followed suit. Jim reached out his hand and shook Derek's.

Derek smiled again and grabbed the tray beside him. "Thanks Mr. Halpert," he said.

"No problem, buddy," Jim answered. "And it's 'Jim' remember?"

Derek nodded as he walked out of the office. "Right, thanks Jim," he said and Jim watched as he walked out of the office and into the kitchen. _Good kid_, Jim thought, sitting back down and looking at the reports in front of him again.

He let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. He was nervous and he didn't like how it felt. _I'm the laid back goofball. I don't let things get to me like this. _He groaned. _My philosophy is that things happen, and once they do, you just roll with it. You've gotta make your own luck in this world. No use worrying. You can't control a thing. _It was a good philosophy and it had served him well over the years. He didn't like to be stressed out. He didn't like to worry. And lately, that's all he'd been doing. On the surface you would think that Jim was cool as a cucumber like always – something that had burned his ex to the core all the time. But, in all actuality, he was just really nervous.

Having Mr. Swanson come in two weeks ago and say that he was looking for a new restaurant for his hotels had made Jim heady with excitement. But it wasn't a done deal. Jim knew that he was also looking at restaurants that were already chains around the country, as well as a few other places like his in New York. It was important to Jim to show Mr. Swanson that his restaurant, though small, was good enough for this type of venture.

Café Cabernet has been voted New York's best bistro the last two years. It had only been open for three. It made Jim feel good knowing his bistro was one of the best from the beginning. Over the last six years, the only things Jim really had put any passion into were his daughter and his restaurant. He had tried, for a mere six months to try and put that much passion into his marriage with Veronica, but she had made it apparent right away that it wasn't what she wanted. Jim had been hurt by it at first, but he'd realized that the only reason they were still together was because of Charlotte. So, instead of focusing his passion on Veronica and Charlotte, he shifted it to Charlotte and building his restaurant.

He looked around the office and then out into the dining area. _This is my world. I own this. I created it. I will achieve the ultimate dream._

It was something he told himself all the time. Now it was time to actually make it happen. It was right there in front of him. All he had to do was grab it and hold on for dear life. He sighed and looked down at the reports again, trying to concentrate on them. _Now if I could just relax enough to get through the rest of the evening, I should be fine._

The daily profit and loss reports on his desk were staring up at him. He had been looking at them for the last 45 minutes. _These are perfect. I know my numbers are perfect. I have a knack for this stuff. I have it right._ And even though he had made Pam think he hadn't been preparing for this meeting, he had been. He had been preparing his whole life for this.

He ran a hand through his hair again and put the reports back in the manila folder. _I can't keep looking at these. They're not changing and I __**know**__ they're perfect. I just need to calm down and let the restaurant show Mr. Swanson it has what he needs._

He was about to stand up from his desk chair and walk into the kitchen for a bite to eat when he heard squealing outside in the dining area. He instantly recognized it as Charlotte's voice and he looked out to see her running wildly through the dining area to him. "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" she was squealing. His heart jumped and a smile spread to his face as he watched her run toward him...

That was until he saw Derek coming out of the kitchen with another plate of food.

Quick as he could, Jim was out of his chair and walking out of the office to intersect the collision he could see occurring in the near future. "Charlotte honey, slow down," he said, striding out of his office. His voice wasn't panicky, but firm and even though he knew Charlotte had heard him, she still wasn't stopping. He was coming up behind Derek now, and he could see Charlotte coming towards them.

Everything was going in slow motion.

Jim could see the tray full of food that Derek was carrying. It had three dishes full of red and white sauces on top of loads of pasta.

Jim could see Charlotte's backpack bouncing up and down on her back as she ran towards him, her arms outstretched and her mouth open with a smile.

Jim could see the table that Derek was headed to, right where Charlotte and Derek would collide. It was a table with three women, each wearing business suits and looking proper.

And then, with the blink of an eye, things were moving at regular speed again and Jim acted instinctively. He reached out and grabbed Derek's shoulder, halting him. Derek teetered and Jim grabbed the tray with a free hand, stabilizing it like a pro. He firmly placed Derek out of the way, holding the tray in his hand now. With his newly freed hand, he set it out in front of him and cradled Charlotte protectively to his leg as she ran into it. The tray shifted slightly as Jim's body shook to the side after the impact, but the food was still there. He patted Charlotte's back and smiled down at her.

"Hi there sweetie," he said gently, a smile on his lips. Charlotte smiled back up and at him and hugged his leg tighter. "Can you go sit in daddy's office?" he asked. "I'll be right in there."

Charlotte nodded and ran off. Jim looked over his shoulder as she went and then stole a glance at Derek, who looked sheepishly down at his black shoes. Standing at the table of women now, Jim averted his attention to them, placing a smile on his face and said, "Ladies, you're all looking lovely this afternoon."

He watched smiles spread to their faces and he started doling out plates of pasta and sauce to them. "Now, who had the Shrimp Alfredo?" he asked.

A few minutes later he was handing the tray back to Derek, who looked upset. "I'm really sorry again, Jim," he said and took the tray from him.

Jim put his hand on Derek's shoulder and smiled. "It's alright, you're new. You'll get there." The calmness of Jim's voice perked Derek up and he smiled. "But," Jim added, looking slightly sterner than he would normally have. "Make sure you look ahead of you. Foresight is saving your ass."

Derek nodded and walked out into the dining area to wait on another table. Jim sighed and shook his head as he made his way into his office, where Charlotte was sitting. He noticed Pam and Kade there as well and smiled to himself. He noticed Pam's change of clothes. _She really looks nice. Who would have thought a women's pant suit would be that sexy?_ Jim shook his head to drop the thought_. Not sexy, Jim. Not sexy. You're not looking for a woman. You need to focus on your career and your daughter._ He was walking into his office and staring down at Charlotte, who had a huge smile plastered on her face. _Yeah, your daughter who almost caused a disaster to your career._

Charlotte stood up and hugged him again around the knees. Jim leaned down and picked her up into his arms and hugged her back. "Charlotte honey?" he asked, trying to pull her off his neck. When she looked at him almost all of his anger slipped away and he smiled gently. _Damn this little girl for being so cute._ "What did daddy say about running in the restaurant?"

A guilty look furrowed her brow and Jim couldn't help but think she looked absolutely adorable. "That I'm not supposed to do it," she said in almost a whisper.

"That's right," he said and kissed her forehead.

"I'm sorry daddy," she answered, looking like a little girl who had just lost her favorite stuffed animal.

Jim's heart broke a little. "It's okay," he said. "Just don't let it happen again."

She hugged him tightly around the neck again and then he set her back down on the floor, where she immediately starting chasing Kade around his desk in a game of tag. Jim watched for a second and then looked up at Pam, who had a smile on her face.

"That was some fancy footwork you did out there," she said, giving a little giggle.

_Wow, she is adorable when she giggles like a little girl._ Jim ran a hand through his hair again and smiled. _No, Jim, not adorable. She's not allowed to be adorable. Your daughter is adorable. Not your daughter's friends single mom. _"Yeah, it's amazing what you can do under duress," he said with a lopsided grin.

"I don't think that was a compulsive act," she said gently. "That was more of a skilled move…like you've done it a million times before."

Jim laughed. "Maybe," he said.

Pam smiled at him and he gestured for her to take a seat. As she sat down, instead of sitting behind his desk, he sat in the chair beside her. He watched her put her purse in her lap and fold her hands gently on top of it and then cross her legs at the ankle in the same manner. She looked extremely proper sitting that way, almost like a doll that you were afraid to touch. If Jim hadn't noticed that she had a glob of green icing in her hair, he might have thought she was actually made of wax or glass.

"You look nice," Jim said with a small chuckle. He saw Pam's eyes light up and he added jokingly, looking up at her hair, "I think the green icing is, pardon my pun, the icing on the cake." He watched Pam's eyes widen and instantly her hand went to her head.

"Are you kidding?" she asked, groping around in her hair. Within a few seconds she had put her hand right in it and she groaned. "Oh God."

Jim laughed and reached over to a table at the side of his desk and grabbed a glass of water and a cloth napkin. He dipped the napkin in the water and stood up in front of Pam. "Here," he said, grabbing her hand to stop her from picking at it. "Let me get it for you."

He ignored the tingling sensation that had run up his arm when he'd touched her hand, and instead started running the napkin through her hair, getting out the remnants of the green icing. He also ignored how silky her hair felt as his finger tips grazed it lightly. _Stop, Halpert. Just stop._

He moved back away from her and smiled down at her when she looked up at him. "Is it all gone?" she asked as one hand went back into her hair and the other was groping in her bag. She pulled out a little hand mirror and opened it quickly, taking a look.

Jim nodded. "Yeah, it's gone," he said as he sat back down.

Pam looked relieved. "Thank you," she said. "That could have been overly embarrassing."

Jim chuckled and nodded. Kade and Charlotte were still running around the desk, and just as Charlotte came running past him he stuck out his hand to stop her. She grinned up at him and he smiled at her before saying, "Slow down, please." She nodded and took off again, only this time at a steadily quick walk. He averted his attention again back to Pam. "How was she?" he asked.

She smiled. "Absolutely fine," Pam answered. She looked at the two kids wreaking havoc in the office. "They get along really well." She looked back at Jim and smiled wider. "It's nice to see Kade with such a good friend. He's always talking to people, and he's very outgoing, but he never really has good friends to play with. They've definitely connected on a new level."

He listened to her talk and watched how her mouth formed the words as they came out. He was finding himself memorized by her mouth. Still watching her mouth as it smiled at him, he answered, "Well I'm glad to hear it." He watched her smile fade and realized he was staring. _Wake up, knucklehead_. _You can't just stare at her. She'll think you're a freak. Which you probably are. _He tore his gaze from her mouth and looked into her eyes slightly sheepishly. To change the subject, he fixed a smile on his face and asked, "So what was with the icing?" He gestured towards her hair again and he watched as she absently put a hand to her head again.

"Oh," she said, her voice shaking slightly with laughter. "We might have had a small food fight."

Jim looked at her a second with disbelief in his eyes and then a laugh erupted from him like a volcano. He was doubled over in his chair laughing as he heard Pam laugh as well. "Oh God," he said, his voice barely coming out. "I can't believe it." He wasn't sure why he found this so hilarious, but he continued to laugh, tears streaming down his cheeks. He looked up to see the same Pam laughing and crying as well.

Kade and Charlotte had stopped running around in the office and were both staring at their parents. Each of them had a cute smile on their face, mixed with confusion. "What do you think they're laughing about?" Charlotte asked, wrinkling her nose slightly and tipping her head to the side.

Kade looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno," he said. "But they look kind of funny."

* * *

_So, there you have it. Now it's going to be a few more days before you get another chapter (sorry, we're just both a little busy right now), so you have PLENTY of time to review. LoL. Thanks for sticking with us everyone:)_


	9. Author's Note

**_Author's Note_**

_Hey everyone! AG and I just want to let you all know that we have NOT fallen off the face of the Earth. Well, its obvious AG hasn't because she keeps updating her other stories. I, on the other hand, feel like I've fallen off the face of the Earth, but unfortunately have not. I think it might be easier if I did._

_Anyway, I'm in the middle of tax season right now and AG has multitudes of classes and babysitting jobs, so we've been slacking in the updating of "One Fine Day." I'm just here to apologize and to let you know that, hopefully soon, we'll have another update for you. If you check out my personal profile you'll see that I'm "officially" on hiatus until probably the end of tax season. But, we're going to try to get this story wrapped up for you all._

_If you have any questions, shoot us a PM or IM either of us on AIM. Thanks everyone!_

_Katy (and AG)_

_**P.S.** Maybe all this buzz about the strike being over will give us all a little more motivation huh?_


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